In new blow to Charlotte bars, other venues, NC extends Phase 3 limits as cases rise

It was the news that Charlotte bars, entertainment venues and other businesses were dreading: Gov. Roy Cooper on Wednesday announced that the state will remain in Phase 3 of reopening businesses for another three weeks during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Zack Medford, president of the North Carolina Bar and Tavern Association, didn’t expect to hear good news Wednesday for the 1,063 private bars across the state.

“It’s going terribly for bars,” Medford said before Cooper’s announcement. “It’s an absolutely awful, gut-wrenching year for us.”

Cooper said wearing a mask shows you care about people and it’s the easiest way to look out for each other.

“As this pandemic continues, I know it’s difficult and tiring to keep up our guard, especially when we’re gathered with people we love. But it’s necessary,” Cooper said during a press conference.

On Monday, North Carolina reported 14,552 COVID-19 cases in the past week — the sixth highest in the country, according to New York Times data.

Phase 3 went into effect Oct. 1 and was set to expire at 5 p.m. Oct. 23. Now it is in place until Nov. 13.

Under the order, small outdoor venues, movie theaters and conference centers could reopen at 30% capacity or 100 seats, whichever is less. Cooper announced a three-phased reopening this past spring, with no Phase 4 on the plan.

In Phase 3, movie theaters, amusement parks, entertainment facilities, and conference centers were allowed to reopen.

Bars, lounges, nightclubs, music halls, auditoriums and strip clubs could also reopen but for outdoor seating only under the same capacity restrictions. And, indoor seated venues for live stage performances were restricted to 25 guests.

But many businesses, including some bars and independent music venues, remain closed because seating is limited to outdoors only, and indoor seating venues for live stage performances can’t serve alcohol, according to the order.

‘Straight up discrimination’

Tommy’s Pub owner Jamie Starks was livid Wednesday.

“With every one of these announcements, it’s another tease,” Starks said after Cooper’s remarks.

He said he takes the virus and its deadly potential seriously, following all social distancing and other requirements at his bar on Eastway Drive. Then he passes crowded tap rooms, breweries and bars that claim to be restaurants on his way home each night through Plaza Midwood.

“It’s straight up discrimination,” he said.

Seeking the same rules

Across North Carolina, Medford said, said bars are permanently closing across the state, including his own. Medford owned five bars and employed about 80 people before the pandemic hit in March. He recently sold one, Isaac Hunters Tavern in Raleigh, because he said he couldn’t work out a deal with the landlord on rent.

“This small fraction of the bar industry is forced to bear the brunt of the entire pandemic,” he said. Plus, he said, 75% of bars don’t have outdoor seating so they haven’t been able to reopen.

“It’s unsustainable,” Medford said. “It makes us feel like the government is picking winners and losers, and we just don’t matter.”

He also said the hospitality industry needs to be under the same set of rules. More than 6,000 other bars that are restaurants and breweries, Medford said, look normal. And, people can go bowling but can’t play pool, he said.

More frustration

Shawn Shrader, who owns the three Kilted Buffalo bars, said the 30% outdoor capacity limit for bars has done little to help his business and the roughly 30 people he employs. For months, the Kilted Buffalo took 100% losses after it closed in March, and is now back to roughly 8% or 10% of its usual revenue.

“We’re quite honestly really open Thursday, Friday, Saturday evenings,” he said. “That’s three short evenings a week, the mandate to stop serving alcohol is still in place 11 p.m. and we’re starting to get into the heart of fall, coming on winter.”

Shrader also is frustrated with being treated differently from other establishments in the same industry that have been allowed to open indoors because they serve food. He said as the weather grows colder, it would be harder to attract customers to his patio-only space.

“I made a strategic choice to be different, and to do that I didn’t want to serve food.”

‘Survival mode’

The 750-square-foot Elsewhere cocktail bar in South End closed weeks after its February debut because of the pandemic. The bar could seat 45 customers inside and 40 outside.

Now reopened for outdoor service only, co-owner Sean Rega said thanks to their landlord, they’ve added more temporary tables and can seat up to 65 people.

Rega wasn’t surprised by the extension of Phase 3, given the rise in COVID-19 cases. The bar is open Thursday through Saturday and hopes to add another day soon.

He said the bar offers table service only and requires customers to wear masks when not seated.

As the weather turns, Rega said they’re working with the landlord to find a solution for temporary coverage and a source of heat, too. “We’re really focused on survival mode,” Rega said.

Michael Sharpton, manager of Scorpio in west Charlotte, said he was getting ready to open this weekend. But his 11,000-square-foot building will remain shuttered.

Now, he’s considering opening the patio, even though it can only accommodate about 29 people. He said unemployment benefits are running out for his employees.

“It’s frustrating, it’s disappointing but unfortunately, not surprising,” Sharpton said.

He said the government at local, state and federal levels need to do more to help businesses. “I certainly will express my opinions at the ballot box,” he said.

Music venues

Many of Charlotte’s popular music venues like Neighborhood Theatre have remained closed throughout the pandemic.

“The plight for independent live music venues in Charlotte continues,” said Gregg McCraw, owner of MaxxMusic and talent buyer for Neighborhood Theatre told the Observer earlier this month. “Nothing changed for us.”

Just before Cooper’s news conference, Visulite Theatre owner Bernie Brown predicted the governor would keep venues such as his closed “due to upticks in (the) virus as it gets cooler.”

“Most touring acts aren’t planning to come out until late next year, although I know many regional and local acts who want to perform as soon as we get the green light,” Brown said.

Joe Kuhlmann of The Evening Muse in Charlotte said he’s tried to avoid the mental “roller coaster” of expecting something positive from each Cooper news conference and then being let down.

He’s focused instead on alternative ways independent venues across Charlotte and the rest of North Carolina can generate income.

In late December, he said, 20 music venues across the state that belong to N.C. Independent Venue Alliance are planning a live-stream event with at least one artist performing at each venue. They’re hoping to raise corporate sponsorships as well.

A similar live stream event among 11 Charlotte venues is planned six weeks after the statewide one, he said.

This story was originally published October 21, 2020 at 2:23 PM with the headline "In new blow to Charlotte bars, other venues, NC extends Phase 3 limits as cases rise."